At the 2013 World Methodist Council meeting in London, participants envisioned the 2016 World Methodist Conference in Houston to be our most inclusive yet. To make this vision a reality, we must draw on the connections we’ve developed over the years within our global Wesleyan/Methodist family.

The planning and design team is seeking your expertise in identifying speakers, preachers, and workshop leaders for the conference. Nominees should not only reflect the World Methodist Council’s commitment to racial, age, gender, geographic, and denominational diversity, but they also should be able to create experiences that will engage, challenge, and inspire this historic global gathering.

The World Methodist Council encourages you to consider the authors, innovators, preachers, and teachers both in your denomination and beyond. We have received a few requests for high-profile authors who have written books on trends or change, such as The Power of Habit, Switch, and Disrupt. The fees for this type of speaker can be quite high. Should your denomination have access to a prominent speaker or performer who would be willing to participate at a reduced fee, or that your denomination would help underwrite, please let us know.

We have created a place to nominate speakers, preachers, and workshop leaders on our website and we’ve also attached a printable form in this message. We request you nominate at least two individuals, so you will need to fill out the survey twice or duplicate the printable version. Send the completed forms to Barby Bowser at barbybowser (at) worldmethodistcouncil.org. The deadline is Aug. 1.